David Bowie Limited-Edition Fine Art by Rock Paper Photo

The side trip to the Russian capital was Bowie’s idea, proposed on a whim during a week-long tour break in Zurich, Switzerland. “We had time to kill before the next tour stop,” remembers photographer Andrew Kent. So when David suggested we go to Moscow, Jimmy (Osterberg, aka Iggy Pop) and I said, ‘Sure!’

“As low man on the totem pole, it was my job to get all the transit visas.” Andrew was dispatched to Basel. With their papers in order, David, Andrew and Jimmy set off for Russia. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie at L’Hotel, Paris 1976

David is getting ready for a concert in Paris as the 1976 European tour was winding down. This shot was taken by Andrew Kent at L’Hotel where David was staying.

The photographer was no stranger to Paris. He lived there as a teen with his aunt, uncle and cousin on the Isle St. Louis, “right down the street from Marc Chagall and Georges Pompidou.”

He considers his ’76 European road trip with David, culminating with the shots in Paris, as a highlight of his career. “This was the best work I’ve ever done for anybody, before or after.” Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie, Helsinki 1976

David arrives in style at a Helsinki hotel, at end of a side trip to Moscow.

“David’s publicist, Barbara Dewitt, had invited all the members of the Scandinavian press to meet David at the train station when we arrived from Moscow,” recalls photographer Andrew Kent. “She thought the trip took two days – actually, it took three. So all the press was there but not David. People started to worry.”

The newspaper headline the next day was, “Bowie Lost in Russia!”

After Helsinki, the tour continued in Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and finally, Paris. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie at L’Hotel, Paris 1976

On the last leg of the 1976 “Station to Station” European tour, Photographer Andrew Kent arrived at David’s Paris hotel to find the performer still in bed.

David slipped on a dressing gown and hopped back in bed for this unforgettable shot. Jimmy Osterberg (aka Iggy Pop) was also in the room.

“These were the best couple of hours I’ve ever had in photography. I was so fortunate to be there,” says the photographer. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie, Moscow 1976

Photographer Andrew Kent captured a close-up of David in front of Lenin’s Tomb in Moscow. A day of sightseeing followed their arrival that morning, on a side trip from their 1976 “Station to Station” European tour.

Says photographer Andrew Kent, “The most important thing was not to shoot too much. I didn’t always take out the camera. I shot only at certain times when we both knew it was appropriate. That made the shots I did take truly special.” Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie aboard the SS Leonardo da Vinci, New York City 1976

“David preferred just about any means of travel other than flying,” says photographer Andrew Kent.

Here, David pauses aboard the SS Leonardo da Vinci, docked in New York harbor. David is bound for London to start the first leg of the 1976 “Station to Station” European tour. Afterwards, Andrew flew back home to LA and met David in London two weeks later to start the tour. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie, Wembley Auditorium, London 1976

“Bowie’s Back!” declared the headlines, playing off the distinctive angle of Andrew Kent’s famous shot to mark the performer’s return to London for the kickoff of Bowie’s ’76 European tour.

“Everybody identifies this shot with David,” Andrew says. Taken during a performance at Wembley Auditorium, it is one of the photographer’s favorites. It was featured on the cover of NME magazine. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie, Moscow 1976

David enjoys a civilized moment dining at Moscow’s Metropole Hotel on a break from the 1976 European tour. Caviar came first, then a good cigar. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.

David Bowie, Paris 1976

“Presenting David…” Well, you know who we mean.

The performer poses in Paris in May 1976, in front of the concert poster for the last leg of the European “Station to Station” tour.

Andrew Kent had met Bowie the year before the tour through a fluke. Noted rock’n roll writer and close friend Cameron Crowe was in LA on assignment for Rolling Stone covering the recording of “Station to Station.” Not having a driver’s license, he enlisted buddy Andrew at 2 am one morning to chauffeur him to meet David at Bowie’s house in Bel Air. “The three of us stayed up talking all night, and David and I became good friends,” Andrew says.

In the 70’s Andrew spent a lot of time in Europe, shooting performances by Iggy Pop, The Eagles and other bands, and tending to his new music photography business, “selling slides out of a backpack. ” His entourage included Crowe and fellow photographer Barry Levine. Photo courtesy of Rock Paper Photo.